Ohio State NFL draft first round notes

After a two-year drought, Ohio State had two first-round picks in the 2014 NFL draft as Ryan Shazier went 15th to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Bradley Roby went 31st to the Denver Broncos. The last time two Buckeyes were taken in the first round was 2009, when Malcolm Jenkins went to the Saints and Beanie Wells went to the Cardinals.

Shazier is 21st Buckeye picked by Steelers and the fifth in the past five years.

Ryan Shazier talks to reporters in Columbus

Last: Mike Adams, OT, 24th pick of the second round (56th overall). Other recents: DE Cameron Heyward, DE Thaddeus Gibson (who moved to LB) and DE Doug Worthington. Four of the five play on the defensive side of the ball, where former Ohio State star halfback Dick LeBeau is the long-time coordinator. First: Jack Dugger, end, 1st pick of second round in 1945.

Shazier is the 48th linebacker from Ohio State chosen in the common era (1967-present). First: Nick Roman, Bengals, 10th round 1970.

He is the ninth Ohio State linebacker picked in the first round. First: Rick Middleton, who went 13th overall to the Saints. The Broncos picked Randy Gradishar one pick later.

Shazier is the first player drafted from Jim Tressel’s last recruiting class, signed in 2011 and ranked No. 3 in the nation. He was the 13th Tressel Ohio State signee to be picked in the first round.

Roby is the 14th Ohio State cornerback drafted in the past 20 drafts (1995-present). He is the 30th OSU CB drafted in the common era (1967-present) but the first since Chimdi Chekwa (Raiders, fourth round, 2011) and only the second in the past five years. First: Ted Provost, seventh round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in 1970.

Roby is the ninth first-round CB from Ohio State and the first since Malcolm Jenkins went 14th to the Saints in 2009. Jenkins ended up being a pro safety, meaning one could argue the last true first-round corner from Ohio State was Chris Gamble, who went 28th overall to the Panthers in 2004. First: Neil Colzie, 24th overall to the Raiders in 1975.